Monthly Archives: March 2016

The Honduras Solidarity Network of Canada and the United States, and its member organizations, have been organizing to demand justice for the murder of Berta Caceres, leader of the indigenous land and environmental group, COPINH.

Of the hundreds of resistance members who continued to demand a return to democracy since the 2009 coup and who paid for that opposition with their lives, not one murderer has been brought to justice by the successive coup-spawned governments. Berta is the highest profile national leader to be assassinated. If the powers that be – the government of Juan Orlando Hernandez, the oligarchy, the foreign companies, and the US-trained and funded military and police – are allowed to get away with her murder, it will be open season on the other leaders of COPINH and the nonviolent National Front for Popular Resistance.

Won’t you make a tax-deductible gift right now to help protect Berta’s mother and three young daughters who are themselves now threatened for speaking out? Won’t you make a contribution to protect the life of Gustavo Castro, the Mexican human rights accompanier who was the only witness to the murder and who the judge, after suspending Gustavo’s lawyer, will not allow to leave the community where the murderers still run free? Won’t you contribute the price of a pizza or a night at the movies so that COPINH and other popular movements can feed and shelter the thousands of Hondurans who are demanding their government end impunity, stop the violence, and allow international investigators to solve the murder of our friend and compañera Berta Caceres?

With indignation and sadness, the organizations that form the Honduras Solidarity Network of North America denounce the assassination of Berta Caceres, leader of the indigenous Lenca organization COPINH and a tireless fighter forsocial justice and for the defense of the environment and indigenous territories.Recognized around the globe for her leadership and spirit in 2015 she received the world’s leading environmental award the Goldman Environmental Prize. Many of our members knew Berta and have witnessed first hand her courage and integrity. We join the multitude of voices in Honduras and the world raised against this outrage

Berta became an activist when she was still a teenager and continued even in the face of violence from the government and oligarchy, arrests and threats. After the 2009 coup, Berta and COPINH took up an important role in the resistance movement despite the unleashingof a ferocious repressionagainst that resistance and the peoples’ movement in Honduras and against leaders like Berta.

After the coup, attacks on the indigenous and campesino communities in Honduras escalated as land grabbing by the government, the oligarchy and international mining and hydroelectric companies increased.Berta and COPINH are in the forefront of the struggle of the indigenous people for their land and a number of COPINH members have been assassinated and others arrested and threatened during this struggle.

Over the past few weeks, repression and threats escalated. On February 20th, Berta and other members of COPINH and the community of Rio Blanco were physically threatened by police and military trying to stop a peaceful activity in defense of the Gualcarque River which is threatened by a hydroelectric project of the Honduran company DESAwith international financing. On February 25th another Lenca community supported by COPINHwas violently evicted from their land.

We strongly supporthuman rights defenders in Honduras and internationally in demanding that there be a serious and complete, independent international investigation of Berta’s murder so that all those involved are identified and brought to justice rapidly. We reject any attempt to criminalize the leaders and members of COPINH. Berta was a recipient of an order for protective measures by the Inter-American Human Rights Court due to the constant threats and harassment against her and we are concerned and angered to hear pronouncements by Julian Pacheco, Minister of Security at a press conference this morning that can only be seen as an attempt to sidestep responsibility for her security and to blame the victim of this political crime.

We have read the communique of condolences issued by the US Embassy in Honduras earlier today and can only say that, “actions speak louder than words”. The US government has been and is the main economic and political support for the governments in power since the 2009 coup, including the current government of Juan Orlando Hernandez. The US government bears its own responsibility for the militarization and downward spiral in all spheres of life in Honduras, and for the grave human rights situation.We reiterate the demand that US aid and training to the Honduran security and military apparatus be stopped immediately because it, in action, supports human rights violations such as the murder of Berta Caceres.

We express our most profound condolences to Berta Caceres’ family, her organization, her community, and the Honduran people and their organizations in struggle as well as our own determination to redouble our solidarity.

March 3, 2016

The Honduras Solidarity Network of North AmericaThe HSN is made up of more than 30 organizations in Canada and the United States.